03 bulkhead repairs got tested!!

[SumpBuster]

Unfortunately. My bud Randy, who caught the top of a guardrail near Redfield last year, and tore off the left front and broke out the lower hole of the bulkhead (2003 RX1), caught a frozen mud tire rut on a blind left hander Saturday, on a quick lap of Tug, with lots of snowdust and oncoming traffic. It looks like the right ski (which was bent up at 90 degrees..just the plastic reinforcement) caught, yanking the bars and flipping him off, rolling the sled, but landing hard on the left front suspension, that was rewelded and reinforced (see link). Somehow, the bars mashed his right index finger, splitting it open, ripping the nail off and breaking it. He's ok, lost some blood, and after a quick ER visit after gettin home, to get stitched, he's tough...lol. The front suspension is perfect..no problems at all. His son rode it back 60 miles. We just need to fix or replace the ski.
He took my Apex, with the curves xs skis...as it was the easiest handling sled for him to ride. By the time we got back to Barnveld, he passed me doing about 100!! Guess he likes them.
As a side note, his son's 2002 Doo legend lost the right third of the track..tore right off! I rode that back 60 miles as he couldn't handle it too well. Then it dropped a cylinder, but it isn't a fouled plug. Ahhh, the two stroke days..
But the moral is, the front of the RX took a pretty big shot with no ripped off a-arms, or anything broken.
We really didn't want to have to test it, but hey, stuff happens..LOL.

 

[BURMAD69]

How did he repair it?? I did mine with a piece of 1/4 plate aluminum by connecting the right and left sides together, seems to be a lot stronger.

 

[SumpBuster]

How did he repair it?? I did mine with a piece of 1/4 plate aluminum by connecting the right and left sides together, seems to be a lot stronger.

We had the broken aluminum part of the bulkhead welded back, but it only lasted a week (probably didn't heat it enough). The second time, the weld was much better, but then I added these brackets and tied them together using the hole that holds the two castings together.

I tightened the nuts on the threaded rod first, pulling the castings together, then tighten the nuts pulling the metal brackets holding the lower a arm bolts, tensioning them toward the center of the bulkhead. Then lock with the other nut. This makes sure any hits go through the a arm, then the bolt, then the bracket, then try to stretch the threaded rod, before ever trying to break off the aluminum casting. If it gets through all that, I guess he'll be back in the ER...lol.

 

[BURMAD69]

Thats a good way to fix it also, the way I did mine was with a plate connecting right and left sides

 

[SumpBuster]

I thought about that, but this (other than time) cost less than 5 bucks and gave me an adjustment to pretension the bolts. I like adjustments.....